Magic and Mischief
by geek-on-girl
Summary: A collection of tales in which young Loki practices his (magic) tricks.
1. Chapter 1: Magic Lessons

**Loki (about 12) and Frigga in the Dinning Hall**

* * *

Loki reached out one more time, trying to move the small bowl of sugar just a few centimeters. Slowly, it started to wobble. Behind him, he could hear his mother's praise, but his main focus was still the bowl. No bigger than the palm of his hand, he had seen Frigga move things 20 times as large, and he was determined to learn the tricks as well. He pushed a little harder with his thoughts. _This stupid bowl is going to move for me if I must sit here all day,_ he thought, without a single bit of patience. "Gah!" he shouted, letting his frustration loose.

At this, the sugar in the bowl burst into flames, almost catching the entire hall on fire. Frigga promptly sloshed a bucket of water on it, kept at hand for this very reason, knocking the bowl over.. Disappointed and upset, Loki slouched back in his chair to brood. "I'll never get this right."

"Don't be ridiculous, my dear," soothed his mother, "It was clearly about to move before you lost your temper."

His temper! Ah, his temper. It always came back to that, didn't it? Constantly being scolded for some trick he'd played on Sif or Hogun to get back at a nasty jibe. _Thor_ was never scolded. It wasn't fair.

"Now," Frigga called his thoughts back to the silver bowl, "Let's give it one more try."

"I don't want to," the young prince sulked.

"Well, I want you to." How could he possibly refuse his mother's sweet natured request? He knew it was more of a demand, but phrased like that, with that look in her eyes, he couldn't think of it that way.

Sighing, Loki righted the bowl, straightened his back, coolly placed his hands in his lap, and began concentrating. After about 30 seconds, he gave up, pronouncing, "I can't. I've tried as hard as I can, and I simply can't."

"Perhaps that's your problem." Frigga could barely contain a giggle at the confused look on his face. "Relax, Loki. You are my son. Magic is a part of you. You shouldn't have to struggle to use it."

Frowning, the boy turned back to his target and causally as lifting it with his hand, asked it to move. To his shock and surprise, it slid across the room, knocking Thor smack dab in the middle of the chest as he walked in.

Loki burst into peals of laughter, almost falling off his seat. It was good to see Thor disgruntled at a trick that he hadn't meant to pull, and so couldn't be punished for.

"Now Loki," Frigga said, trying extremely hard to keep a straight face (and failing miserably), "You mustn't be amused by your brother's misfortune."

"I'm sorry, mother," he said, not in the least apologetic.

Thor stalked over to the table where the little magician had been practicing, humiliated and fuming with rage. Loki just grinned; he knew Thor couldn't do anything at all to him with Mother standing right there.

"Father wishes to see you in the Great Hall," the 'Great Blond Oaf' said, hardly breaking his glare at Loki for a second before looking back. Yet in that second, Loki had completely vanished.

Thor's eyes widened, big as sauce plates. He hadn't heard Loki move. He hadn't seen Loki leave. Yet Loki was absolutely nowhere to be seen.

"Thank you, Thor," Frigga called back his attention. "And Loki," she added, looking at a seemingly empty chair, "do try not to cause any more trouble, please?"

Thor stared at the chair for a few seconds, wondering if his mother's magic had finally driven her mad, before turning to follow her back into the throne room.

Overly pleased with this small victory, the mischievous little boy reached across the room and threw another little trinket, just barely missing his brother's head. Thor yelped in surprised, rushing out of the room as quickly as possible. _It's not like it would have done you any damage,_ thought Loki, as he made a mental note to work on his aim.


	2. Chapter 2: Vanishing Act

**Anywhere from 6 months to age 15 **

* * *

Frigga stormed in fuming. "Why does he have to be so stubborn?" she shouted to no one in particular. Odin had again decided to go to Jontunheim, though he knew it was still not secure. She collapsed onto the couch in the empty room. Then she realized: THE ROOM WAS EMPTY. "Loki!" she cried, remembering why she was there in the first place. She distinctly remembered leaving him here on a blanket not five minutes ago, and had come to get him some dinner. Now the boy had completely vanished. Though she'd only been caring for the tiny frost giant for a couple of weeks, she'd already begun to love him. She searched the room frantically, hoping he'd simply rolled away, but found nothing.

"Odin!" she shouted, "Loki's gone!"

"What do you mean, gone?" he asked, entering the room. "How could he possibly be gone? Nobody's been in here."

"Don't you think I know that? I'm not stupid," she snapped, "But as I hope you aren't stupid enough to see, _he's not here._"

At that moment, their attention was caught by a baby just waking up. Looking toward the source of the sound, they found it was from the blanket on the floor. Odin frowned in confusion.

"I could have stepped on him!" Frigga cried, running to the blanket and smiling as Loki materialized in her arms.

Odin was no less confused, "What, by Freya, is going on?"

"Oh, don't be daft, my dear," Frigga chirped cheerily, as she floated out of the room with her little bundle, leaving Odin still quite bewildered.

* * *

At first, Loki's ability to vanish seemed controlled only by his instincts. As a toddler, when something frightened him, he would, through no fault of his own, disappear. Thor found this immensely frustrating, especially when he was just about to slug his brother for some cutting remark. Odin found it highly irritating, especially when he was trying to scold his son for some mischief that he had gotten into. Frigga, after discovering Loki's abilities, watched carefully and learned how to see through the blanket of magic covering him. As a result, she was really the only one who could deal with him.

As he got older, Loki found that by concentrating, he could control his little trick. Needless to say, this further distressed Thor and Odin. He'd always been mischievous, and Heimdall knows, this didn't help. For some reason, Thor never quite caught on, and so ended up being the butt of most of Loki's jokes. Though he also particularly liked to pick on Volstagg...

Frigga had her hands full.

As a teen, Loki eventually outgrew the little trickster phase. Now, he mostly used this power to avoid people. After all, nobody wants to talk to a wall. Especially if they don't know whether it's a person or really just a wall. He loved to ignore Thor, especially when the oaf entered his room. Without knocking. Again.

"Loki," Frigga said one day (addressing the wall), "We'll work on that vanishing trick, today. I think you could do a lot more."

"Loki is in here?" Thor frowned in confusion.

_As stupid as father,_ the wall thought. Sighing, the wall _said_, "Yes, and I'd just gotten comfortable. What do you mean 'more'?" the young magician inquired, shimmering into view.

"You'll see," his mother responded, and walked out onto the balcony.

As he followed her, he found himself face to face with a frost giant as tall as Heimdall's helmet. Involuntarily screeching, he blended in against the door.

"Loki! What is going on?!" Thor demanded, before falling flat on his back, as he also ran into the intruder. Returning to her normal size, Frigga leaned against the railing in uncontrollable laughter.

Loki, slightly miffed at being fooled and still quaking in his boots, started, "Mother, why -"

"You should have seen your faces!" she practically cackled.

He stared in shock. He'd never seen this side of his mother before, practically in tears from laughing at her prank. Slowly he understood, "More..."

* * *

"No, I can still see your outline."

"Mother, I have been at this for an hour now, and I'm famished," said a very pale Hogun.

"You must get this right before you forget all, my son. Now, try to darken the face especially," Frigga suggested, as she studied him from her chair.

Sighing, Loki closed his eyes and concentrated. Slowly, the disguise took a more solid form.

"Excellent!" his tutor clapped. "Now make him a bit shorter."

Loki huffed in exasperation, "Mother -"

"Hogun! Father wants us in training at once," Thor commanded from behind. "Billing is threatening a skirmish in Vanaheim. Are you taller than you were yesterday?"

Throwing his head back in frustration, Loki dropped the image and rolled his eyes at his brother. "Well, he's not here."

"Odin's beard..."

"Yes, yes I know, 'how did I do that' and 'what's going on' and 'how long have you been practicing'. I'm really not in the mood for this."

Thor wandered out of the room in in bewilderment.

"There," Loki said, addressing his mother, "I convinced Thor that I was one of his closest friends. Can eat now?"

Frigga smiled, "I told you; he was too tall."


	3. Chapter 3: Best Served Cold

**In this, Loki is about 17. **

* * *

On the far side of the courtyard, Loki sat, watching his brother and several of the other warriors in training. _How brutal, how animalistic they look,_ he thought. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help wishing he was there with them. Instead he contented himself with returning to his studies.

This moment, his chair stood facing the sun. His feet squarely on the ground, he held his book carefully in his delicate hands. On his face, a look of perfect contentment. The next, he found himself on the ground, lying on his side, wondering why properties mad the sky orange. Sitting up very slowly, very carefully, he glanced round, and was hardly surprised to find Thor doubled over in laughter at the childish prank. Sif, it seemed, had pulled his chair out from under him with her quarterstaff.

His first reaction, naturally, was to get up, start shouting, and swing his fist. But he had learned years ago that this reaction only incurred his father's wrath, his mother's pity, and his brother's smugness. His second reaction was to make the bucket of water explode, where it sat right next to Sif in her full metal armor. "Thor may not be so smug," he thought, "but Father will be no less angry." So instead he stood up, righted his chair, and returned to his book.

"Come one, Loki," laughed Fandral, "shout! Scream! Throw your fists in rage."

"Don't bother him too much; he'll have to get even," Volstagg trembled in mock terror.

Loki sat in perfect silence, as the band wandered off to find more interesting sport.

_Indeed I will._

* * *

Two hours later, Thor was in his chambers washing up for dinner.

* * *

At the exact same time, Thor walked into the Dinning Hall, an aura of unusual brightness accompanying him, his entrance heralding the beginning of the feast. No sooner had he sat down on the left side of his father, than he was pulled away by one of his numerous admirers.

Loki's most precious thought at the moment was how distraught Thor would be, on today of all days, that he'd missed the banquet. Twas a pity that his door was stuck fast. In fact, this thought put him in such a good mood that he almost didn't mind the irritating, brainless ladies (girls, more like) that flocked to his side, trying to capture his attention - almost. Still, it was worth it.

"Ladies and Lords of the court of Asguard," Odin immediately had the attention of the whole room, "We come together today to celebrate the feast of midsummer. I know, you all are expecting some grand speech. But for today, I pardon you from that burden." A muffled laughter rippled through the room. "Instead," he continued, "I merely wish to offer a toast. To brotherhood, to friendship, to family."

At the word "family", Loki noticed Frigga search the room out of the corner of his eye. He knew she must be searching for him, since he had not been sitting at the table next to her, in his normal place. She whispered something to Odin, who laughed and and brushed off any notion of worry.

Typical. Loki had meant for this evening to lift his spirits. Instead, he found himself brooding over his fathers favoritism and worried lest his absence should upset his mother. Just then, a very pretty lady by the name of Sigyn tugged at his sleeve. Shortly thereafter, she was seen leaving the Dinning Hall, with the prince and the envy of the others following her.

Mere moments later, Loki walked back into the hall, tall and stately in his brightest banquet robes, and bowed to the Allfather, "Forgive me, sir. I'm afraid I have missed the toast."

"Oh do not worry, my son. You know, your mother was just asking about you."

Loki bitterly recognized his dismissal, and so turned to take his seat next to the queen. As he did so, he saw a spark of suspicion in Frigga's eyes.

"Loki dear, you haven't seen Thor, have you?"

"Yes, in fact I have," he replied in as casual a tone as he could manage, "He was accompanying a lovely young lady when I passed him in the hall." He said the last just loud enough that Sif, sitting next to him, could hear every word. He saw her swallow hard from the wine glass in her had, set her cup down before her, and calmly excuse herself from the company.

* * *

The next morning, Thor stormed into Loki's room and demanded to know what was going on. Annoyed at having his slumber disturbed, Loki groaned, "What, by Odin's beard, are you talking about?!"

"You know of what I speak, brother," Thor growled.

"Please, tell me what mischief has been done, so that I may confess and get some sleep."

"I am told that I was the center of attention at the banquet last night."

"Congratulations, may I go back to bed now?"

"I am not done. There's a girl, the Lady Sigyn, who remembers leaving with me, having a wonderful evening walk through the grounds, and then waking in her own chambers this morning. Yet I have no knowledge of these happenings."

"Brother, if you have somehow forgotten last night's adventures-"

"I have not forgotten, Loki; they didn't happen," Thor shouted. "I was locked up in my room until well after the feast was over. I was also told that you showed up just after I left. I find that a difficult coincidence to grasp."

"I'm not sure I understand what you're implying," he replied in mock offense.

"You know exactly what I'm implying. You had something to do with locking me up last night, and making me miss the feast. I'm not entirely sure you were not at the banquet in my form, with your petty tricks."

_Petty tricks indeed._

"If the young lady in question took a walk with you that evening, yet I arrived just after you left, how could that even be possible? You probably just drunk yourself to sleep and dreamed the whole thing." Loki rolled back on his side, clearly indicating the exchange was over. Thor ignored him.

"I don't know how," Thor said, throwing his fists down, like an angry child, "but you had something to do with it. Mark me brother, you'd best watch your step from here on out," and with that, he stormed out of the room.

Loki listened to hear both doors into the hall slam shut. Then slowly, a grin spread across his face until his room filled with laughter. After five minutes of uninterrupted glee, he went back to bed.


End file.
